Julie Klassen explores the bond of sisterhood in her latest Regency novel The Sisters of Sea View.
Book Blurb
When their father’s death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.
Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family’s new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth’s many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars–both visible and those hidden deep within–and her cloistered heart will never be the same.
Join the Summers sisters on the Devonshire coast, where they discover the power of friendship, loyalty, love, and new beginnings.
My Thoughts
Despite a slow start as Klassen set up the circumstances behind a family of gentlewomen starting a boardinghouse, the characters quickly pulled me in. I loved the deep bond of these sisters, even when they didn’t agree. Their love for their mother makes them easy to root for even when I didn’t like their choices.
I have to say, though, that the boarders almost stole the show. I loved the variety of characters from the Eltons to Mr. Hornbeam to Mr. Gwilt. Their interactions with the sisters and the bits of truth that come from the older gentleman provide such great fodder for thought. They also offer more than a few laughs. And then there were the flirtations with Mr. Stanley and Mr. Henshall. I hope these characters will return in later books.
What I loved the most, though, was the developing relationship between Viola and Mr. Hutton as well as Viola’s friendship with Mrs. Denby. But the romantic in me is still smiling when I think of Viola and her Jack, the way they both learn to see themselves as more than two scarred souls.
Overall, The Sisters of Sea View is a Regency tale that will delight historical romance fans and women’s fiction fans alike.
(Note: I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.)
To grab a copy of The Sisters of Sea View, click the book cover above or visit your favorite book retailer.
For more on Julie Klassen, you can visit her website and sign up for her newsletter. You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
If you haven’t read anything else by Klassen, check out my review for the last book of her Tales from Ivy Hill series, The Bride of Ivy Green.
